Berenberg High Goal Cup: top-class polo in Düsseldorf

Four top teams and 80 ponies to appear in Düsseldorf

One of the leading polo events in Germany

Hamburg/Düsseldorf. German polo stars and South American equestrian athletes are once more set to do battle for the coveted silver trophy at the Berenberg High Goal Cup on 12 to 14 June. This is the ninth time that Germany’s oldest private bank has hosted the “game of kings” at the Reit- und Polo-Club in Düsseldorf.

Since it was first staged in 2007, the Berenberg High Goal Cup has evolved into one of the most prestigious tournaments in Germany. High goal is the name given to the very highest class of the sport, featuring top quality matches at international level full of precision and dynamism, fairness and team spirit. “Yet again, we’re matching our promise to present the very best in polo in our 425th anniversary year,” enthuses Tilo Croonenberg, the man at the helm of Berenberg’s Düsseldorf branch. Part of polo’s premier league, the tournament forms the opening round of the 2015 High Goal season. There is no question about its inclusion in the German Polo Tour, an umbrella for the biggest German tournaments.

Four top teams will meet each other over three match days. Home advantage will be enjoyed by Team Berenberg, which will be provided by the local Düsseldorf Reit- und Polo-Club and have the backing of most of the fans. Club president Dirk Baumgärtner and regular teammate Philipp Sommer will join forces with the two Argentines Pedro Fernandez Llorente (handicap 5) and Eduardo Anca (6). Team Bucherer consists solely of German players, led by Christopher Kirsch, captain of the German national side and tournament organiser. Highly successful young talents Caesar and Caspar Crasemann together with Max Bosch will make up the rest of the team. Team Land Rover will be relying on famous names in the saddle in the form of actor Heino Ferch and his wife Marie-Jeanette, along with the two Argentines Ignacio Garrahan and Pablo Jauretche. A Dutch-Argentine combination will put in an appearance for Team Lanson, with Niels van der Hoeven and Savine an der Kloot Meijburg joining up with Miquel Lagos Marmol and Gonzalo Bernal.

The four teams will bring nearly 80 ponies with them to the Düsseldorf Reit- und Polo-Club: in the High Goal, some of the mounts are even changed during the course of a chukka, each of which lasts up to seven and a half minutes.

Besides being a sporting challenge, the tournament is also an extremely popular social event and family festival enjoyed by an ever growing number of people. “The visitors’ enthusiasm is enormous, which reaffirms the wisdom of our decision to continue promoting polo in Germany in general, and Düsseldorf in particular, in our role as main sponsor,” comments Croonenberg. Several thousand fans make the trek to the Reit- und Polo-Club’s An der Reith facility in Düsseldorf every year. The matches start at 1.30pm and 5pm on the Saturday and Sunday, with the four teams fighting it out for overall victory and the places. Tickets cost 15 euros each, while entry is free for under-12s. A heavily discounted Düsseldorf family ticket costing 20 euros for two adults and two children is also available.

The German Polo Tour is supported by Berenberg, Bucherer, La Martina and Land Rover.